New Gryffindors at Hogwarts
by Green Eyed
Summary: When Hogwarts has already said farewell to Harry Potter and his friends, a new batch of first years roll in. Throughout their time at Hogwarts, they encounter plenty of the dramas of life.
1. First Day Jitters? Not Here!

**Disclaimer: **Everything you recognize is J.K. Rowling's and the rest belongs to me- In other words, just the plot and the student-characters are mine. Most of the professors are J.K.'s with like one or two exceptions, and the setting and Hogwarts and the Magical world and eeevvvverrrryyythiiinnngg else you know is hers . is hers! Not mine. Hers. =)

**AN:** Hope this doesn't turn out too bad, this is my first time trying this and usually I end up getting off my focus when it comes to fan fictions. But, I persist anyway. Enjoy, and make sure you review at the end because I want to know what you think of it, even if you would rather read a week-old newspaper. Yup, criticize to your heart's desire.

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**Chapter One- First Day Jitters? Not here!**

****

          Carissa Leighton slowly walked into King's Cross Station with her mother's hand clasped on her shoulder as she led her daughter past all the platforms. Her large aqua blue eyes had a look of curiosity playing in the swirl of color, but there was a bit of anxiety in the mix too. 

          "A little quicker, Caris," her mother told her, pulling her through the hustle and bustle of Muggles. She nodded in response, although it was unseen to her frantic mother who was already panicking as the clock struck 10:45. 

          Both mother and daughter slipped through the barrier separating the Muggle and magical worlds, blending in seamlessly with the crowd and disappearing just as well.

          "I want to go hooome," Carissa moaned, stopping dead in her tracks as she began to think about leaving so many things behind. But, like a mother bird teaching her child to fly, April Leighton would hear nothing of it- she knew how much Carissa would enjoy being at Hogwarts.

          "Trust me, sweetie, you'll love it at Hogwarts," she assured Carissa easily, and she was quite confident in her words, "Just wait until you make all new friends, you won't want to come home in July." She flicked a long auburn tress of hair out of her eyes and looked around, trying to spot potential friends for Carissa- one mother and daughter in particular stood out. Both looked a lot alike, owning light brown hair and the brightest green eyes she had ever seen.

          As if struck by a lightning bolt, right when Carissa saw the Hogwarts Express looming in front of her, her eyes sparked and took on a new look. Her face brightened and she was keen on getting to Hogwarts ASAP- no exceptions. 

          "Bye Mom!" Carissa said, walking backwards to wave and smile at her mother, who was looking rather gloomy to see her daughter leave. She turned around just in time to catch herself from falling as she walked right into the light-brown haired girl that her mother had spotted earlier.

          "Oof!" Carissa said, slipping back slightly but keeping her stance, "I'm really sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."

          Fortunately the girl smiled and promptly stuck out her hand. "No worries, great to meet you though," she said enthusiastically, which put Carissa at ease instantly, "I'm Laney Hudson and this is my first year, same with you I guess?" 

          "Yep, and I'm Carissa Leighton," she answered without delay, a friendly smile appearing on her face, "Do you know anyone here? I don't, so I'm actually kind of glad I walked into you, no offense."

          "Only the psycho who walked into me," Laney said, straining to keep her expression blank.

          Both girls laughed light-heartedly soon and boarded the train, trying to find an empty compartment that they could occupy. After making a full round on the train and finding not one vacant one, they gave up and pulled open the doors on one. 

          "Um, do you mind if we sit here?" Laney asked quickly, looking at the two boys that were sitting their. One was rather tall, about 5'5" and had dark black hair that was spiked up in no particular fashion and the other had sandy blonde hair that seemed to have a life of its own in a ruffled up, just-got-out-of-bed look. But, Laney had to admit it suited him well.

          "'Course not," the sandy-blonde said quickly. 

          "Squeeze a cheek," Carissa warned with a grin as she plopped down comfortably next to the black-haired boy. "And, what're your names? I'm Carissa Leighton and this is Laney Hudson," she announced, taking the initiative to introduce both herself and Laney.

          "I'm Carson Dalton," the black-haired boy reported, "and this here is Tyger Flynn." 

          Laney raised her eyebrows in approval at both boys, as if she had been paying close attention to them. "So, what house do you guys want to get in? I was hoping for Gryffindor, but I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad," she said thoughtfully, making a bit of conversation between the strangers.

          "I second that, I'm praying for Gryffindor," Carissa said with a nod of approval. Her shoulder-length brown hair swayed back and forth, threatening to escape from the restriction of her ears.

          "Yup," Carson said simply.

          "And, I guess we can safely say that we've got four Gryffindor hopefuls here," Tyger finished, looking out the windows at the top of the compartment doors.

 It seems someone outside must have heard that last comment, because the compartment doors flung open revealing a short boy with a pale complexion and pale red hair that looked as if it had been in a sunny window for years- although his skin color contradicted that. 

          "Gryffindors?" he said in a disgusted voice, his nose crinkling to add drama to his cold words, "What a bunch of rubbish. Oh great, we've got a Flynn and a Dalton in the same compartment sharing their dreams. Why don't you too start snuggling for good luck?" He chuckled at his own joke to which there was no other response. "And who are you two?" he demanded, his cold silver eyes turning towards Laney and Carissa.

          "Your new enemies," Carissa responded promptly, getting to her feet and sliding the doors closed forcefully, blocking out the annoyance.

          Laney looked admirably up at Carissa, as if she wished she could prove herself to the other three people so naturally. "Great job, Carissa, you showed them!" she complimented, high-fiving her fellow brunette.

          Carson grinned and pealed with laughter at the shocked look on Carissa's victim's face, which he would later proclaim as being the highlight of his day- no, wait, _week_. "Little firecracker, aren't ya?" he said to her teasingly.

          "-And the fuse is burning low," Carissa finished with a smile, "Who is that kid, anyway? Before you tell me, let me take a guess. He's some rich snob with lots of money and a long line of Slytherin relatives?" 

          "Exactly!" Carson and Tyger proclaimed at the exact same time. Laney obviously found this rather amusing, for she burst into laughter. "Alexander Adelmonte," Carson finished dryly.

          The four eleven-year-olds chatted about everything and anything for hours that seemed to pass in seconds to them, and before they knew it the lady with the tray of snacks had long since passed and the Hogwarts Express was approaching the castle.

          "Look, there it is!" someone called loudly, since it was heard in the compartment where Laney, Carson, Tyger, and Carissa were still talking, currently about Muggle sports verses Magical ones.

          "Ooh! Look how beautiful it is," Laney said dreamily, whipping around to look out the window. The silhouette of a majestic and large castle came into everyone's view, and for one of the first times all four were speechless.

          "Well, I can tell you one thing," Tyger said, breaking the silence, "it looks a lot different than my brother told me. He said it looked like the White House! I mean, _come on_, this is like a night and that's day!" 

          Everyone laughed and turned back around, readying their bags and luggage to be moved. 

          The witch who had rolled by with the food cart before again came walking by the doors, yelling out, "Get your things ready, we're almost there!" and by the time she had passed the door twice Carson was having a hard time resisting the urge to tell her to just shut up already.

***

          After half of the train had emptied, Carissa walked out first followed by Laney and then Tyger and Carson at the back. The four of them carted their bags off the train, which were taken into carriages to be sent up to whichever House each student was sorted into.

          "FIRS' 'EARS O'ER HERE!" a strong voice called out. 

A pack of younger students followed and saw a large man, in all ways, standing on the edge of the lake. A gathering of regular rowboats were lined up on the shore.

"FOUR TO A BOAT! ONLY FOUR!" it continued. 

Laney and Carissa glanced at each other and Tyger and Carson did the same. But, by the time a shuffle of students had passed through, almost all of them were separated. By luck, Carissa and Laney ended up together, along with a boy by the name of Darrell and a black-haired Asian girl named Jamie. 

"Hey," Laney and Carissa said simultaneously to Jamie and Darrell.

"Hi," Jamie said shyly, "I'm Jamie Ellison." 

"And I'm Darrell Taylor," the brown-haired boy finished.

Throughout the rest of the boat ride the four remained silent, mostly gazing up at the towering castle that was making a dark shadow as the sun set. A few times the choppy lake waters misted over the edge getting just about all of them somewhat wet, but none of them cared much.

"NOW, FOLLOW ME 'VERYONE!" the giant man bellowed, his burly stance alone causing all of the firsties to stop in their tracks and scurry through a set of large doors that led into the castle.

Immediately inside stood a tall, stately lady with a taut bun mid-way down her head and pursed red lips.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I'm Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress," she greeted them all formally once everyone had filed in, "and if you'll follow me, we can get started."

She turned around and led the students across the flagstone floor and into a small chamber on the left. Once inside, she waited for everyone to quiet down before giving a short, to-the-point speech.

"The Welcoming Feast will take place shortly, but our first priority is the Sorting. Here at Hogwarts there are four noble Houses- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," Professor McGonagall began, "All of the Houses are known to produce outstanding wizards and witches, although their qualities differ. Your House plays a major role in the time you spend at Hogwarts, for you'll be sleeping in your House dormitories, spending spare time in the common room, and going to classes with your fellow house-mates."

She paused to take a breath before continuing.

"And now, I advise you all to spruce yourselves up for the Sorting," she finished, "for it will be starting quite soon." She turned and walked out of the chamber, the echo of her heeled shoes clicking against the floor leaving the only noise. 

          "How exactly _are_ we Sorted?" Carissa asked loudly, to the group in general.

          A heavy silence followed.

          "Well, well, well," a repetitive voice drawled, "why should I tell you?"

          Carissa and Laney's heads flicked around to see none other than Alexander, the boy that they had somewhat 'met' on the train, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his pale face.

          "Just don't, I regret the question," Carissa decided swiftly.

          Alexander shrugged, raising one eyebrow, and stalked back over to the other side of the chamber. 

          Before anything else could be said, though, Professor McGonagall appeared at the door, beckoning the first years forward. "Time to be Sorted," she said simply, leading them into the Great Hall.

          "Whoa, cool!" someone shouted from the back of the line. Everyone in line turned around, causing the boy's face to turn beet red. 

          "Quiet down!" Professor McGonagall said sharply, stopping for a moment before continuing towards a table near the Professors'. Sitting atop a stool was a ragged looking hat that showed no special traits at first. But, by the time everyone was seated, it proved otherwise.

_Welcome to Hogwarts,_

_Where you'll learn a thing or two,_

_About how you can change the sky,_

_To green instead of blue._

A slit in the bottom of the hat just above the brim sang out in a cheery voice. Carissa shot a glance at Laney, although the girl's startling green eyes were only directed at the hat. Once it had finished singing its song, the whole room erupted in clapping.

          Professor McGonagall stood up from her seat at the Professors' Table with a long, unraveled scroll clutched in her hands.

          "Acurso, Tyler!" she called out first.

          A short, somewhat pudgy boy stood up, nervously making his way over to the stool. _Please not Gryffindor!_ Carissa thought, since her mind was already made up that that would be her House.

          Tyler Acurso jammed the hat over his head and sat upon the stool, his feet dangling down. 

          "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted after ten seconds of contemplation. The Fat Friar's facial expression changed to a grin as Tyler scuttled over to the Ravenclaw table, plopping down on the end of one bench.

          And so the sorting continued, each House receiving a bundle of new students. Not to Carissa's surprise, or Laney's for that matter, Alexander Adelmonte joined the Slytherins. Finally, Professor McGonagall called out, "Leighton, Carissa!"

          Carissa stood up, her slender body and long legs taking her over to the Sorting Hat quickly. She gently set it atop her shoulder-length chestnut locks.

          "GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted instantly, to her utmost joy.

          The Gryffindor Table erupted in hoots, hollers, clapping, and a few whistles as Carissa proudly made her way over, sitting down next to Laney who had been sorted into Gryffindor as well. Unfortunately, Carson had been sent to Ravenclaw and Tyger was in Hufflepuff, but Jamie Ellison and Darrell Taylor were also officially Gryffindors.

          After what seemed like an eternity, a tall man stood up at the center of the Professors' Table, clad in deep blue robes with silver edging. A startling white beard trailed down to his waist, and the same coloured hair sat atop his head.

          "Welcome, young and old," Albus Dumbledore announced, a twinkle in his eyes, "to another year at lovable, huggable Hogwarts. Instead of wasting your time on a boring old speech, I'll just enlighten you with two more words: Chow time!" 

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**AN:** Okay, that's all for now. Enough for one chapter, I guess. If you like it and want more, review! If you hate it and aren't going to bother reading one more letter of it, review anyway! Good reviews will lead to updates, of course. Cheers!


	2. Getting Settled In

**Disclaimer:** Again, everything you recognize is J.K. Rowling's, of course, and all the things that are new to you are mine. Since the whole point of writing a fan fiction is for it to be about something already created, you should know the deal.

**AN:** Even though I only got one little review - *Sniffle* - I'm going to put up this second chapter anyway. Hopefully it will motivate you all to REVIEW! Haha, that's basically all I have to say this time. If anyone has any suggestions about plot and stuff, put it in your review. Thanks!

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**Chapter 2- Getting Settled In … and Where are the Boys?**

The Great Hall erupted into a low roar of clapping as Dumbledore seated himself. When this had died down, Carissa and Laney turned around in their seats so that they were positioned facing the table. To their total surprise, it was currently lined with silver platters, bowls, and dishes containing every type of cuisine that they could imagine.

"Wow! I wasn't expecting _this _much!" Carissa exclaimed.

"Same here, this is beyond a feast," Laney agreed, flinging a few spoonfuls of mashed potatoes onto her plate and passing the bowl to Jamie. 

Carissa loaded up on chicken, gravy, buttered noodles, and a few other random side dishes that she scooped up when she was nearly finished. She took a sip of pumpkin juice, a drink she now learned she didn't like very much, and sprayed it all over the boy who was sitting across the table from her's face.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, thoroughly embarrassed with herself, "I'm so sorry!" 

Meanwhile, though, Laney, Jamie, and Darrell hand their hands clapped over their mouths trying to refrain from bursting into laughter- although the attempt was in vain, of course. Spurts of giggles escaped from the girls, and Darrell tried to distract himself by looking across the hall at the Ravenclaw table. When he turned back to the scene Carissa had caused, he saw that the victim of her pumpkin-juice spraying was showing the same response- an amused smile spread across his face.

"Real nice," he complimented Carissa, who flushed light pink, "but anyway, you're Carissa Leighton I heard? I'm Travis Donahue."

Laney, nearing the final stages of her extended giggling fit, looked up from her plate and gave a, "Hey, I'm Laney Hudson as you probably know since you took the time to listen to Caris's name." 

"Thanks," Carissa added in response to her compliment on her spraying-pumpkin juice performance, "and, yeah, I'm Carissa. Nice to meetcha." Pulling out her 12-inch, redwood wand she magicked the pumpkin juice out of her goblet and replaced it with some plain spring water- much better.

***

          "Gryffindor first years, over here!" Nick Beech, one of the two Gryffindor prefects, called out. In about two minutes all of the first years had made their way over to him and formed a pack behind him, disregarding the mention of a single-file line. Packed in the center were Jamie, Laney, Carissa, Travis, Darrell and another first year boy they had met, Emmet Jenkins. 

          "Hey, watch out!" Laney said, pounding on some intruding foot that had stepped on her new white sneakers. 

          "_You_ watch out!" he responded, elbowing her in the ribs.

          "ARGH!" Carissa wailed as her left foot met the same fate as Laney's had only seconds earlier. She fell back onto Darrell, who caught her just in time. 

          "Thanks," she said, straightening her stance and waiting until everyone had passed, leaving herself and her friends at the back of the line where it was pretty safe. 

          "That was a bad idea," Travis said bluntly, watching as Nick attempted to get everyone to quiet down and form a straight line. After they had come to a complete stop in the middle of the hallway for a few idle minutes, the rambunctious Gryffindor first years finally got smacked in the face with realization (not literally, just an expression) and simmered down a bit, slipping into a close-to-perfect line.

          Nick continued and in a few minutes they were standing outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Fairy dust!" he said, and the portrait swung open. Everyone walked in, and a cozy sight met their eyes:

          A crackling fire with merrily flickering flames that tickled the bricks was roaring and a seating area was set up behind it, complete with scarlet armchairs and golden trim. Towards the back were two staircases, which Nick explained as the one on the left leading to the Boys' Dorms and the right one leading to the Girls'.

          "Your trunks have been sent into your dorms," Nick Beech explained to the eager first years, "which is where you'll find it. See you guys around!" With one more gleam of his shiny prefect badge, he had exited through the portrait hole and was gone.

          Carissa shrugged and followed Laney and Jamie up the stairs and into the Girls' Dorm, where a ton of luggage and trunks met their eyes. "Hmph," she huffed, looking at each of them in turn, "Now where's mine …" 

          Jamie's black-haired head popped up from the side of one bed, a triumphant look upon her face. "Found mine!" she announced, pulling a trunk over to the opposite end of the room and setting it against the wall- she had chosen the bed right at the end.

          "And mine too!" Laney called out, following Jamie's example and taking the bed to the left of hers. She fell back onto the springy mattress, bouncing up once and then laying still upon the comforter. She let out a long yawn and rubbed a bit of sleepiness out of her eyes. "I won't fall asleep … I won't fall asleep …," she murmured under her breath

          "About time," Carissa said, after yet another long five minutes of searching, with a heavy sigh as she hauled her trunk over to the bed left of Laney's. She looked at Jamie and Laney and suppressed a laugh- both were fast asleep, laying fully-clothed on their beds with their heads tilted to the side and their eyelids clamped shut. 

          "If you can't beat 'em," she said softly under her breath, "then join 'em." And Carissa did just that, lying down on the bed with her head slumping over and her hands placed on her stomach, one over the other. By the time she had drifted off into Dreamland, she had curled up into a ball and was breathing lightly, unaware of what was going on in the Boys' Dorms.

**

          As the girls took a nap, adjacent to their dorms Darrell, Travis, and Emmett were claiming their castles- in other words, arguing over who got which bed. 

          "That one's mine," Darrell staked his claim on the one nearest the wall.

          "No, my stuff is already there," Emmett countered.

          "Where?" Darrell responded, his eyes boring at the position where "his bed" was, "I don't see any trunk there."

          Emmett quickly hauled his trunk to the foot of the bed through Darrell's protests and pointed at it. 

          "Now you do," he said with a sly grin.

          "And now you don't," Darrell opposed, shimmying it away and abandoning it in the center of the floor.

          "Oh come _on_," Travis complained, "just shut up already!" He slid his own trunk towards the other end of the room and left it there, heading down into the common room. Emmett and Darrell glanced at each other, pointing at the bed by Travis's and calling out in unison, "MINE!"

          Finally the two settled it, and stalked down the stairs into the common room where Travis was plopped down in an armchair, staring into the fireplace. "We're done now," Emmett announced, sitting down as well. 

          Travis sighed in relief, mumbling something that both Emmett and Darrell translated into, "About time," or something similar to that phrase. 

          The boys sat in silence for a little while, thinking to themselves and disregarding each other's company as they took it all in- moving into Hogwarts, the castle, the sorting, their new friends, and a thousand and one other things that were new experiences to them. The fire warmed their faces and, even though it wasn't admitted, if they hadn't fought the urge to fall asleep, the warmth would have lulled them anyway.

          "Where are the girls?" Darrell finally asked, his voice cutting through the silence like a dagger through one's heart, as he shifted restlessly in his chair. 

          "Right here," Jamie said, stifling a yawn as she trudged down the stairs from the Girls' Dorm with her hair twisted around and immediately revealing the fact that she had been sleeping, even if only for about a half hour. Behind her came Carissa and Laney, both in the same state of appearance- ruffled hair and sleepy eyes.

          "Taking a little nap?" Travis assumed, pointing out the obvious.

          Laney nodded and defended, "If you had to practically go on a treasure hunt to find your trunk, you'd be tired too." Carissa agreed, as did Jamie, who was currently on a mission to comb through her hairs with only her fingers as her brush. She somewhat succeeded, straightening out most of the kinks. 

          "So, anyone up for a round of Wizard's Chess?" Travis suggested. 

          "Sure," Jamie said quickly, watching as Travis pried himself off of the armchair and sprinted up the stairs two at a time, and disappearing into the Boys' Dorms. He reappeared fairly rapidly, bounding down the stairs with his chess board. He set it up on the table and Jamie kneeled down on one end, Travis on the other.

          "Let's make this a girls verse boys sort of thing," Laney said competitively, situating herself behind Jamie, and pulling Carissa over in the process. The two girls kneeled on the side of the table, as did Emmett and Darrell, watching as the two began their match.

          It went back and forth, back and forth, until the two were neck-in-neck and neither looked as if they were going to just give up. 

          "Hah!" Jamie screeched victoriously as she beat Travis at a now or never play. Laney and Carissa grinned and hugged their successful friend, and a defeated look reigned on Travis's expression- obviously, he, like most Gryffindors, wasn't used to losing. Especially to a _girl_.

***

          The next morning, the girls woke up bright and early at 7:00 A.M. thanks to the alarm clock that Laney forgot to shut off. "Hey, I forgot, okay?" she protested sleepily as she threw a stuffed animal at it and knocked it off the nightstand. It landed on the floor and unplugged it effectively. All the girls rolled over, shut their eyes, and were asleep in a wink.

          Later, at the more reasonable time of 9:00, Jamie groggily made her way out of bed and woke up the other two. Since she was first awake, she claimed the shower as hers and washed her hair to a silky deep black. "Next," she called as she came out with a towel wrapped on her head.

          Carissa went next, followed by a still-sleepy Laney. By 10:00 all three were washed and ready and made their way into the Great Hall, where plenty of the students were already gathered and eating breakfast. They sat down at the Gryffindor table and looked around, but the boys weren't in sight- speaking of which, they hadn't been in the common room either.

          "Looking for your friends?" Alexander Adelmonte called out, a smug smile on his face that couldn't mean anything good.

          Carissa bit her lip, and looked around, disregarding Alexander's words.

          "I SAID," he repeated louder, "are you going to play Princess and rescue them or not?"

          "Not with your help!" Laney shouted back, grabbing a stack of toast and walking out of the Hall with Jamie and Carissa hurrying after her, wondering what she had up her sleeve.

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**AN:** That's all for now. Again, review please!


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